straitjacket

or straight·jack·et

[ streyt-jak-it ]

noun

1. a garment made of strong material and designed to bind the arms, as of a violently disoriented person.
2. anything that severely confines, constricts, or hinders:

   Conventional attitudes can be a straitjacket, preventing original thinking.

verb (used with object)

1. to put in or as in a straitjacket:

   Her ambition was straitjacketed by her family.

straitjacket

/ ˈstreɪtˌdʒækɪt /

noun

1. Also calledstraightjacket a jacket made of strong canvas material with long sleeves for binding the arms of violent prisoners or mentally ill patients
2. a severe restriction or limitation

verb

1. tr to confine in or as if in a straitjacket

Word History and Origins

Origin of straitjacket¹

First recorded in 1805–15; strait + jacket

Example Sentences

“They took her away in a straitjacket, man,” he said in a 2009 interview with The Times.

From Los Angeles Times

In a lecture this week, she firmly committed to get debt falling in five years' time, taking on the same self imposed straitjacket that currently constrains the Conservative government.

From BBC

The current system "acts as a straitjacket to firms eager to expand, because they end up tiptoeing around it to avoid extra costs," said FSB Wales' Ben Cottam.

From BBC

Last month, Morgan said his show was leaving television to focus on the Uncensored YouTube channel, saying that daily, fixed TV schedules have been "an increasingly unnecessary straitjacket".

From BBC

“The Supreme Court was clear that Bruen did not create a regulatory straitjacket for states — and we believe that the district court got this wrong,” Bonta’s office said.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• ban
• constraint
• curb
• embargo
• limit
• prohibition
• reduction
• restriction